The Silurian Bridge by Greig Beck

Author:Greig Beck
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Published: 2024-05-23T00:00:00+00:00

***

Lingyun Zhang came to the surface and tried to suck in a ragged breath, but instead drew in a lungful of the bath-warm salty water. He coughed, gagged, and then vomited.

He found it extremely hard trying to stay on the surface with only one hand – and a broken one at that – and the salty water made the seared skin on the end of his stump sting like fire.

He watched the American craft head away. And then it submerged. He stared in disbelief – not one of them had even looked back. He had been schooled all his life into believing Americans were weak and stupid, and he had expected them to give him a warning, and maybe tie him up. But not throw him over the side.

He turned about and saw the faintest line of land to the west. It must have been nearly a mile away, but there was no fear of hypothermia in the warm water. It would be hard, though, and his missing hand was an enormous liability that would tax his energy and speed. And that meant fatigue might catch him before he finally got there.

He began to swim in breaststroke style, and immediately had to adjust to the missing limb as he couldn’t scoop water and made little forward progress.

It took ten minutes before he managed to craft a stroke that achieved maximum speed, and just as he was making good progress, he felt something surge past beneath him. He smiled; the Americans had come back. What he had learned about them had been correct after all, and they would pick him up.

Zhang would be happy to be tied up, and he would act defeated and groggy, and if it took an hour, or a day, or several, he knew another opportunity for sabotage would present itself. And next time, he would act faster.

The surge came again, closer this time; close enough to push him slightly off course. Lingyun Zhang ducked his head below the surface and looked down, hoping to catch a glimpse of the submarine boat.

The water was clear, and the sun was high enough in the sky now to create shawls of sunlight that hung down for at least fifty feet. But beyond that it became darker and then became a pitiless black.

Something passed underneath him just on the edge of the blackness, and a second or two later he felt the surge wave again. The thing had been moving fast, very fast, and he suddenly doubted the American craft had that capability.

Lingyun lifted his head, sucked in a deep breath, and then looked back down into the depths. As he watched, this time he saw something rising from the dark-blue gloom, something that grew in size. He only needed a few seconds more to know it wasn’t the submarine boat. And it was coming up. Straight up.

He jerked his head up to scream uselessly for help.

The monstrous sea creature breached the surface and its gigantic jaws displaying huge, dagger-like teeth that reminded him of prison bars opened wide to take him in.

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